Average Car Insurance Rates: October 2026
Full-coverage car insurance averaged $2,242 a year in September 2026, 0.7% below a year ago. Which states are rising, which are falling, what's next.
Summary
- The national average for full-coverage car insurance was $2,242 per year (about $187 per month) in September 2026, $1 more than August and 0.9% above December, according to Insurify's Data Center, which posted September figures this month.
- The year-over-year gap has nearly closed. September's average is 0.7% below September 2025, and the national figure has been below its year-earlier level every month since July 2025. Last October's average was $2,229. The national average would have to fall $14 in October to stay below that, and it hasn't fallen more than $1 in any month this year.
- 25 of the 40 states in the monthly series cost more than they did in December. Connecticut still leads at +13.3% ($316), followed by Hawaii (+10.6%), Kentucky (+7.8%), West Virginia (+6.7%), Nevada (+6.6%) and Illinois (+5.3%).
- The steepest declines are in New Mexico (-7.4%), Arkansas (-5.2%), South Dakota (-3.7%) and Texas (-3.0%). New York's series shows a much larger drop; see the note below.
- Insurance is only half of what it costs to drive. Our new cost of driving by state puts it next to gas, which is up $1.27 a gallon on a year ago. The half you can shop is the insurance, so compare quotes for your state before your renewal.
The national picture
The national average has barely moved all year: $2,223 in December, $2,242 in September, nineteen dollars in nine months. September added one dollar, and the state-level picture under that was close to even: 17 states rose, 21 fell and 2 held flat.
The comparison that has changed is the one with last year. A year ago the national average was falling fast, from a peak of $2,391 in August 2024, and through most of 2026 the gap with the year before sat between 5% and 6%. It narrowed to 4.5% in June, 2.0% in August and 0.7% in September, because the 2025 decline it's being compared against has run out. October's figure, due early next month, is likely to be the first one above its year-earlier level since June 2025.
The Data Center also revised its August figures by a few dollars in several states (Connecticut's August, for example, is now $2,689 rather than $2,699). This edition uses the current series throughout, so a state's August-to-September change here is measured against its revised August figure.
Where the states we cover stand
Here's the September 2026 picture for all 30 states in our guide library, plus the national benchmark. Michigan, Massachusetts and New Jersey aren't in Insurify's monthly series, so their rows carry the annualized September averages from Insurify's monthly rate article instead, without change figures.
| State | Avg. annual cost (Sep 2026) | Change since Dec 2025 | Change from August | Change from Sep 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $1,701 | -0.2% | +0.1% | +0.2% |
| Arizona | $1,947 | +2.6% | +0.1% | +1.0% |
| Arkansas | $1,803 | -5.2% | -0.6% | -10.1% |
| California | $2,440 | +1.9% | +0.3% | -0.7% |
| Colorado | $2,604 | -1.4% | -0.3% | -5.1% |
| Connecticut | $2,698 | +13.3% | +0.3% | +13.1% |
| Florida | $2,828 | +4.7% | -0.4% | +5.6% |
| Georgia | $3,106 | -0.4% | +0.1% | -1.7% |
| Illinois | $1,947 | +5.3% | +0.2% | +4.1% |
| Indiana | $1,540 | +0.1% | -0.1% | -3.1% |
| Kentucky | $2,323 | +7.8% | -0.1% | +9.3% |
| Louisiana | $2,502 | -2.3% | -0.3% | -5.2% |
| Maryland | $3,622 | +1.0% | -0.4% | -3.0% |
| Massachusetts† | $1,644 | — | — | — |
| Michigan† | $2,748 | — | — | — |
| Missouri | $2,160 | +1.2% | 0.0% | +0.1% |
| Nevada | $3,120 | +6.6% | +0.6% | +5.9% |
| New Jersey† | $3,084 | — | — | — |
| New Mexico | $1,600 | -7.4% | -0.7% | -13.3% |
| New York* | $2,618 | -30.6% | -1.4% | -38.5% |
| North Carolina | $1,357 | +0.6% | 0.0% | +4.7% |
| Ohio | $1,407 | -0.4% | +0.2% | -2.0% |
| Oklahoma | $2,026 | -2.1% | -0.1% | -5.8% |
| Pennsylvania | $1,939 | +2.9% | +0.2% | +1.8% |
| South Carolina | $3,060 | 0.0% | -0.2% | -1.9% |
| Tennessee | $1,589 | +0.6% | 0.0% | -0.7% |
| Texas | $2,447 | -3.0% | -0.2% | -4.5% |
| Virginia | $2,483 | +4.3% | +0.3% | +5.3% |
| Washington | $2,202 | +3.2% | +0.1% | +4.7% |
| West Virginia | $1,873 | +6.7% | +0.5% | +2.6% |
| National average | $2,242 | +0.9% | 0.0% | -0.7% |
Source: Insurify Data Center, monthly state series through September 2026 (posted October 2026). Figures are two-year rolling medians for drivers ages 20–70 with clean records and average or better credit. † Not in the monthly series; September 2026 monthly average from Insurify's October rate article, annualized. Those three states' figures are one-year rolling averages, so they aren't comparable with the series or with the Mid-Year Report figures in last month's edition. * See the New York note below.
Maryland is still the most expensive state in the monthly series at $3,622 a year, ahead of Rhode Island ($3,572), Delaware ($3,139), Nevada ($3,120) and Georgia ($3,106); the story behind Maryland's number is in our Maryland rate-shock analysis. And Florida, which has climbed every month this year, slipped in September, from $2,839 to $2,828. That's its first monthly decline since November 2025, though it remains 4.7% above December.
Where rates are rising fastest
Connecticut has added $316 a year since December, a 13.3% climb that is still going: September was up another 0.3%. Hawaii is second at +10.6%, though its figure is still 7.1% below a year ago; it fell sharply in late 2025 and has been rebuilding since. Kentucky (+$168, 7.8%), West Virginia (+$118, 6.7%), Nevada (+$193, 6.6%) and Illinois (+$98, 5.3%) follow, with Florida (+$128, 4.7%) and Virginia (+$103, 4.3%) close behind. Connecticut (+13.1%), Kentucky (+9.3%) and Nevada (+5.9%) also post the largest year-over-year increases in the series.
Where rates are falling
New Mexico continues its slide, down $127 (7.4%) since December to $1,600. Arkansas is down $99 to $1,803, 28% below its November 2024 peak. South Dakota (-$71), Texas (-$76), Louisiana (-$58) and Oklahoma (-$44) round out the declines. Our falling-rates breakdown covers the states that have been trending down all year.
A note on New York. Insurify's monthly series shows New York at $2,618 in September, down from $3,772 in December and down another 1.4% in September alone, the largest monthly move of any state in the series. As we noted last month, the monthly series and the Mid-Year Report disagree on where New York started the year, not on where it is now. We show the monthly figures because they're the fresher publication.
What's ahead
Insurify's analysts project that 32 states will see increases in the final months of 2026, led by Connecticut (4%), West Virginia (3%), and Delaware, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Nevada, Wyoming and Illinois at 2% each. On the other side, they project New Mexico down 3% and Arkansas, Minnesota and Colorado down 2%. For the most part, the states already rising are the ones projected to keep rising, and the same goes for the falling ones.
What drivers can do this month
A national average that moved one dollar tells you almost nothing about your renewal. Connecticut, Kentucky, West Virginia, Nevada, Illinois and Virginia drivers are in markets that are still repricing upward; New Mexico, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma drivers may be leaving money on the table by not re-shopping into a falling market. Either way, our cheapest car insurance companies guide shows which carriers post the lowest medians nationally and by state, and it takes a few minutes to check current rates for your profile before your renewal date does it for you.
We'll update these figures next month as fresh data lands. Last month's edition is here.
Rate data in this article comes from Insurify's Data Center monthly state series (September 2026 figures, posted October 2026; the Data Center notes its figures are subject to monthly revision, and this edition uses the series as posted). Premiums reflect two-year rolling medians for drivers ages 20–70 with clean driving records and average or better credit; full-coverage figures reflect comprehensive and collision with $1,000 deductibles. Michigan, Massachusetts and New Jersey figures are Insurify's September 2026 monthly averages (one-year rolling) from its Average Car Insurance Rates as of October 2026 article (published October 8, 2026), multiplied by 12. Year-end projections from the same article, citing Insurify's Mid-Year Car Insurance Report. Gas price change per the U.S. Energy Information Administration, week of October 12, 2026. Actual quotes vary by driver profile.